"Should I Self-Publish My Book?"

This video shares what to consider when deciding whether to self-publish a book. With self-publishing, you retain more control over your ideas and the look and feel of the finished product while being responsible for funding the project.

I won’t try to persuade you to choose one publishing path over another. Instead, I share a question-based approach to help you choose the best publishing path for your goals.

The “Ask Deb” video collection evolved from an educational series first shared on LinkedIn and now available here and on our YouTube channel about self-publishing books . Subscribe to our new YouTube channel!

Viewing time: 2 minutes 55 seconds

This video is captioned.

What is self-publishing?

Self-publishing refers to an author funding the publishing of a type of media. In this article, we use the term to refer to publishing books.

Should you self-publish a book?

When I meet with prospective authors in my free “How to Publish Your Book” class , one of the topics that comes up a lot is whether they should self-publish their book or seek out a traditional publisher.

While a lot of prospective authors dream of publishing with a “big five New York publisher,” others dream of becoming self-published authors.

I’ll talk briefly about both pathways, so you can make a good decision for yourself. By the way, I don’t prefer one type of publishing over another. When I consult with clients on this question, I ask questions to help authors find the right answer for them.

With self-publishing, you have more control over the whole process and publish much sooner, yet you have to fund the project. With traditional publishing, you get support with design and book production, yet the timeline is longer than with self-publishing.

What follows are some of the questions that I invite prospective authors to consider.

What is your purpose for publishing a book?

Authors usually want to get more speaking engagements, get more clients, build a legacy, or have more impact. Knowing your main purpose will help you decide if self-publishing will help you achieve your ultimate goal.?

Example 1: If your goal is to secure more corporate workshops, you could choose self-publishing or traditional publishers in most cases. In the experiences of my clients, corporations usually care more about the book’s content and usefulness to their business than the publisher’s name.

Example 2: Let’s say you want to speak at a particular conference. You might look at the speakers they’ve hired in the past to see if they have published books and, if so, whether they self-published or used a traditional publisher. If you find most books are self-published, you’ll be in good company if you are self-published. If you find most speakers have published books by traditional publishers, you might seek that route to help you achieve your goal of speaking at that conference.

Example 3: If you have a thriving financial practice, as my client Bob does, then you might find self-publishing provides you with a way to add to your content marketing. We suggested he create his own imprint under his company. Bob’s goal is to provide excellent content for his prospective clients and to give them an additional way to learn about his work. Since that’s his goal, he decided that self-publishing under his own imprint makes the most sense for him.

Note: You can always switch paths. Authors who first published with traditional publishers sometimes choose to move to self-publishing, and those who started with self-publishing have chosen to move to traditional publishers. The path you choose today doesn’t have to be forever.

Do you have a burning desire to be published by a traditional publisher?

If your dream is to publish with a “New York publisher” or “traditional” publisher, that’s valid. Just keep in mind that leaders frequently tell me they want to be published with a traditional publisher because they think the publisher will take care of the marketing for them. Let’s talk about that…

Traditional publishers have tight budgets, and they can only put marketing power behind a select few books. There’s no guarantee that you will be one of the chosen authors with a book that gets that marketing firepower from them.

These publishers will want to see that you already have a platform (email list, social media following, or other) in order to help sell your book.

What should you consider with regards to how you’ll market your book?

Book marketing will be important no matter what publishing path you choose.

• If you’re a business owner, you can consider how your book will fit into your overall marketing plan. (See article about an author who uses his book as part of his business content marketing.)
• If you’re a leader, you might think about how to leverage your existing networks to build your audience.

How will you choose to get the word out about your published book?

Whatever marketing strategies and tactics you use, be sure you aim for selling many books at once over selling copies one by one. You’ll sell more copies of your book—and more easily—if you use marketing strategies that help you sell two-plus books at a time.

For example:

1. If you’re a trainer, speaker, or workshop leader, you might consider including your book as part of your overall speaking package and adjust your rates accordingly.
2. If you’re a leader, you might consider appearing on podcasts your readership listens to in order to speak to a larger group who will buy your book. You could also start a podcast, LinkedIn Live show, or YouTube channel to develop your audience.
3. If you’re a consultant, you might include the book as part of your marketing to gain new business. You could include copies of your book inside new client onboarding materials.
4. If you're a leader inside a corporation, you'll have a slightly different approach. You won't be so concerned about gaining the big corporate clients, yet authoring a book can help you in your career or a “second act” career.

So, there you have it! If you need more guidance on publishing your book, join us at the next free “How to Publish Your Book” class.

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